Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

Hopefully the following will help anyone wanting to import a car into New Zealand. Please ignore all references which do not apply to you.


Many thanks for your enquiry and welcome to New Zealand. Unfortunately we can only advise you on compliancing of the car. We are not tax experts and are not involved in that side, but we are happy to pass on our very limited knowledge. As far as we understand, any car that has not been owned by the importer for 12 months, attracts GST. The amount is calculated at 15% by the depreciated value of the car plus freight and insurance.
I think shipping agents prefer the “roll on / roll off” service as it is easier and quicker. I think this is reason why you get conflicting information. I don’t think mould is a problem. If the car is transported together with your household goods, you will certainly be fine.

After the container has landed, it needs to pass a bio-security inspection. The inspectors will be looking for “’creepy-crawlies”, for dirt and for leafs. If the goods and the car arrives clean, the bio security check is not difficult. I would definitely make sure it arrives clean, no leafs in the cavities in the engine bay, no dead bugs in the radiator, inside vacuumed and a clean underbody. As you mentioned, the car is clean already, so I don’t expect the car to be rejected when the container is opened.
It also needs to undergo a structural inspection which checks for rust and damage.

Once the car has been cleared by NZ Customs, it can be transported to a compliance centre where it will be entry certified. A warrant of fitness (MOT) will be issued and a form raised, called an MR2A. This form is needed to get the car issued with NZ plates and registered. Being a diesel, you also need to purchase some Road User Charges (RUC) (form of tax for diesel vehicles). Now the car is legal and can be driven away. The AA has a compliance centre in Tauranga where that can be entry certified and registered all under one roof.

To get the car legal on the road, you need to budget for about $1400 (including RUC).

Make sure you bring along the original V5. It proves that you are the legal owner, that it was registered in the UK and that it was registered in your name.
Unfortunately I’m out of the office tomorrow, but if possible, can you please email me a copy of the V5? I’d like to make sure you have enough evidence to prove that your 2011 model meets all the required standards.

Re: Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

Hi,

Very informative.

Did you have to get the Certificate of Conformity form for the NZ compliance centre?

I am looking to import my 53 plate Galaxy, so Im going through the forum to find out as much as possible. The biggest thing I can see is making sure the vehicle complies with the standards for NZ requirements i.e:

You must collect the following documents:

Emissions standards - a suitable European Community (EC) whole vehicle approval plate/sticker, a suitable UN/ECE approval plate/sticker, a certificate of conformity or statement of compliance that includes an approved emission standard.
Frontal impact standards - it appears on our list of compliant vehicles, a suitable European Community (EC) whole vehicle approval plate/sticker, a suitable UN/ECE Approval plate/sticker or statement of compliance.
Fuel consumption - fuel consumption certificate.
Overall standards - a suitable EC whole vehicle approval plate/sticker, a suitable UN/ECE Approval plate/sticker or statement of compliance.

Hence asking about the Certificate of Conformity form.

Thanks in advance,
Paul

Re: Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

Paul
I'll have to respond later as don't have full info on this at present. Hopefully not sounding too cheeky but is the Galaxy worth taking? :D

Re: Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

haha.......... I think it is ;-) We are a large family and because we are also looking at sending over our caravan and the Galaxy has been ideal for towing as it's a big caravan. Saves us having to buy a larger motor over there.

Re: Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

Caravan???, no sorry you arent allowed in...

Re: Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

Did you have to get the Certificate of Conformity form for the NZ compliance centre?

Seems supplying a copy of the V5 to Pickfords and dealing with NZAA is all that was required. Pickfords have said they do the rest it seems. Not sure this is the reply you were hoping for. I think the CoC can be done on arrival so long as there are no objections before, after supplying the V5.

Re: Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

That I seriously doubt. There are two distinct parts to importing a vehicle.

Firstly the import and customs clearance, this is virtually the same as importing anything else and is solely concerned with value, GST and it being not illegal to import it. You can legally complete this part and have the vehicle sat on your driveway but you can't drive it on NZ roads, ever. You can expect Pickfords to support you in regards to the paperwork for this part (for which the V5 is required solely as evidence that the vehicle is yours to ship/import).

The second part is all to do with registering the vehicle for the road, has nothing to do with value but everything to do with standards compliance, safety and vehicle standards. This is much more tricky, especially with the import of single used vehicles and I wouldn't expect any shipper to take any responsibility for any compliance-related paperwork or even to know/ensure the vehicle will pass the compliance checks....

The same rules are also applied slightly differently in each part of the process, for example, when we shipped our Beetle (ie loaded it into the container), we hadn't quite owned it for 12mths, so on arrival we had to pay GST. However by the time the compliance checks were done 2 weeks after the containers arrival they deemed we HAD owned it 12mths by that point so we qualified for the emissions waiver....

Re: Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

Paul.
Maybe this is helpful.

MOTOR VEHICLE LEGISLATION
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is responsible for the
certification, registration and licensing of vehicles in New Zealand. When a vehicle is imported it must go through a process called entry certification. This process checks the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition, has not been crashed or water damaged, and is legally the importer’s property. New Zealand seeks to limit the importation of older used vehicles from overseas, which are designed to meet lower safety and emissions standards than new vehicles. Used imported
vehicles must therefore meet a number of international vehicle standards and this is determined during the entry certification process. The importer is responsible for supplying evidence of a vehicle’s compliance with New Zealand legal requirements, in particular compliance of the vehicle with relevant approved standards. You are advised to contact the vehicle manufacturer to obtain a “Compliance Certificate”. A vehicle that was registered overseas is therefore not automatically able to be registered in New Zealand. Determining whether a vehicle meets these standards can be a complex task. To assist vehicle importers with this, NZTA has appointed several agents to manage the process. These agents are:
• Automobile Association (AA), phone +64 9 966 8800
Email: [email protected]
• Vehicle Inspections NZ (VINZ), phone +64 9 580 3170
Email: [email protected]
• Vehicle Testing NZ (VTNZ), phone +64 4 495 2500
Email: [email protected]
• Safer Vehicle Testing Ltd (SVT), phone +64 9 296 1169 Email: [email protected]

Re: Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

Note that a certificate by itself isn't enough, there should be an EU std sticker on the vehicle, if there isn't, or you can't find it then no cigar. The V5 normally states the EU std that applies but...

Ours was under the rear seat squab (VW New Beetle), nowhere near any other vehicle info etc stickers....

Re: Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

Is anything straightforward these days...ah the good old days. :D

Your posts are help me now too Simon, thanks.

Re: Car Importing - Superb Reply
 

No worries, we used North Shore Compliance in Glenfield, they seemed very helpful...pm if you want a chat about it :-)